Minutes 03-21-2013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Kleinschmidt said he does not feel the analogy with restaurants works because of the contrast between the outdoor and indoor situations. Council Member Jim Ward asked how is the county addressing funding and resources for signage and education within Chapel Hill and other municipalities versus more rural areas. Colleen Bridger said they are concentrating most resources in areas where the population is most concentrated. Council Member Jim Ward asked if there was collaboration with the Town of Chapel Hill staff to assist with identifying these areas and Colleen Bridger answered yes. Council Member Jim Ward asked about the area of Chapel Hill in Durham County. Colleen Bridger said Durham County enforces this area because it has a similar policy. Council Member Sally Greene asked about enforcement and fines and how this is managed in different scenarios. Colleen Bridger said that she imagines, 99% of the time, if an officer sees someone on the sidewalk smoking, the person will be asked to put out the cigarette; the cigarette will be put out and the officer will move on. She said there may be some scenarios, especially where alcohol is involved, where the person is belligerent. In these cases it will be the discretion of the officer in delivering citations. She said that in scenarios where there is outdoor eating, such as in Hillsborough, where the sidewalks are owned by the town; it is the restaurant owner's responsibility to inform people that they cannot smoke at those tables. Council Member Matt Czajkowski asked what instructions law enforcement are being given for addressing this issue with residents. He said that requiring an officer to apply the type of discretion being discussed is not police procedure. He said his request is to have the police chief to come to explain the instruction officers are being given and how much burden this places on them. Mayor Kleinschmidt said he also feels this would be helpful and he feels that most of the time officers will just ignore the smoking. Council Member Lee Starrow said this brings to mind the seatbelt ordinance. He said he would hope that the law enforcement doesn't spend the bulk of their time only enforcing seatbelt ordinances. He said is easy to get stuck in the small details, but overall this is about public education and setting cultural norms. Mayor Kleinschmidt said he is most concerned about the calls to the police, because these calls will require follow up. Council Member Matt Czajkowski said this same discussion occurred regarding cell phones. He said a law is passed with an enforcement mechanism, with the presumption that the police will ignore it. He questioned the legal structure of this and he said the police need to be informed and able to enforce it. He said if it is about education then there should be an educational program, not the creation of a criminal offense. Council Member Lee Starrow asked if the seat belt law should also be done away with. Mayor Kleinschmidt said that is a state law and he agreed with Council Member Matt Czajkowski. Commissioner Price said she feels the market will take care of the issue in restaurants, but she is concerned about law enforcement. She questioned what the recourse will be if smokers are driven off the sidewalks and then just move into the streets where the cars are. Colleen Bridger said smoking in the streets obviously cannot be banned. She is hopeful this will not be the case for the majority of people. She said this does move second hand smoke away from the public areas. Commissioner Pelissier noted that Durham County implemented a very similar rule about a year ago. She asked about their outcome, and if there have been problems as it relates to law enforcement.